The problem with mecha, apart from being 100% impractical, is that the Japanese are largely convinced they all have to look like giant people in suits of techy samurai armour. Look at the mecha in GitS: absolutely nothing like Gundam or most any other anime's mecha. Blue Gender also has its own unique interpretation with its Armour Shrike variation. Both series are very worth watching (if you can get over the cringe-tastic hair of the latter's male protagonist). Then there are also the Western interpretations of mecha: the walkers from the Battlezone series of games are quite unique, as are those found in Hawken and Mech Warrior. Even the humanoid mecha of the Heavy Gear series are quite different looking.
Science-fiction can be every bit as interesting as fantasy, or reality, etc. I mean, if you want to get right down to it, everything is either blocky, curvaceous, or some combination of the two. Accepting that most sci-fi is actually science-fantasy, science fiction is limited compared to straight fantasy only in that you need to have proper justification (physical, political, economic, whatever) for everything and you must minimize the use of "because magic." I can't really comment on work ethic when making a piece, since mine is terrible, but I can say that if your (general "your") artistic vision is getting too diluted it's time to stop, pick out the key points, and start again from there. I've probably gone through that process three or four times now, and I finally think I've got something unique enough to call mine.
I suspect that the teams which refine their original idea will do better, since they have the conviction to see it through to the end and can effectively use the criticism. Those who constantly come up with something new will get new problems every time, and can't actually progress anywhere without excessive brute-force skill. That said, I don't put much stock in CIG crit since I don't actually like the general aesthetic of Star Citizen so far. The star ships are going back to those awkward Wing Commander I proportions, are covered in useless detail, and sport profiles that just don't make any sense in space or militarily; "rule of cool" doesn't hold much sway with me. That said, it's their game and I can get over my preferences enough to play it when it comes out.
P.S. The Cutlass is basically a human interpretation of a Minbari Flyer from Babylon 5:
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